My Pioneer Press tech blog won a 2014 Page One Award for “best newsroom blog” from the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, as I noted in an earlier post.
What I didn’t know then: whether I would place first, second or third in the category.
Now I do: I was bested by Minnesota Public Radio’s Bob Collins and his fab NewsCut blog for the top spot.
A tip of the hat and mega-congrats to @MyLittleBloggie, who bested me in the @MNSPJ‘s “Best Newsroom Blog” category. Nicely done, my friend.
— Julio Ojeda-Zapata (@ojezap) May 20, 2015
A bunch of my Pioneer Press colleagues won prizes, too. Here’s the rundown (the text is from an e-mail Pioneer Press editor Mike Burbach sent out) with photos from the awards banquet:
Tad Vezner took first place in the investigative category for his deep dive on a con man, “Who is he? Whoever he wants to be, victims say.”
Ruben Rosario took first place in the column category for his “Survivors spoke and the archbishop listened” column, which relied on Ruben’s superior reporting and sourcing efforts.
Richard Chin took first place in the feature category for “Service through Starvation,” his report pegged to the 70th anniversary of what’s now known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.
Amy Carlson Gustafson took second place in the arts and entertainment category for her “40 years after opening, it’s still above average” report on a Prairie Home Companion anniversary and celebration.
Richard Chin took second place in the enterprise category for his “Our heroes” series.
Andy Greder took second place place in the sports story category for “Minnesota Timberwolves: Playoff drought nearing 10 years; good times remembered.”
Tim Whitecotton took second place in the headline category for “Get ready to shovel like it’s 1991” and “City has made its list, but what it really wants is a new bridge.”
Pat Effenberger took second place in the editorial category for “$800,000 down the drain,” on St. Paul’s settlement with the owner of Black Bear Crossing.
Tom Webb took third place in the business category for “Malls: Outlet vs. indoor.”
Chris Tomasson took third place in the sports story category for “Miracle baby: Learning from brothers’ mistakes helped get Munnerlyn to NFL” and also in the spot news category for his coverage of Chris Kluwe.
Kirk Lyttle took third place in the graphics/art and illustration category for his Spring Arts Guide cover.
Also, former staffer Ben Garvin took a first place and two seconds for work at the Pioneer Press; first place for best social media account, individual; second place in the best news video category for his piece on one family’s struggle to legalize medical marijuana in Minnesota; and second place for a collection of his feature photography.
Today's Joy of Tech comic!
